Surviving the test of time is the ultimate measure of the quality, dependability and adaptability of any company operating in the construction industry and the fact that O’Keeffe Electrical in Ballincollig, County Cork reached its 30th-anniversary milestone in 2024 speaks volumes for the outstanding workmanship consistently delivered by this exceptional family-run commercial electrical contractor.
O’Keeffe Electrical has become a byword for excellence since its inception in 1994. Fronted by hands-on founder and proprietor Tim O’Keeffe, the company has through the consistent delivery of prompt, professional and value-added services established itself as one of Cork’s most respected and dependable electrical contractors.
Originally based in Ovens before relocating to Ballincollig a decade-and-a-half ago, the business has been providing unrivalled electrical contracting solutions from new premises at Link Road, Ballincollig since 2009 – a move which was followed shortly by what Tim rightly describes as “some of the worst years ever for construction”. Those maddeningly dark days aside, O’Keeffe Electrical has grown steadily down through the years and continues to perform impressively today, with a healthy order book ahead going into the new year.
Now working exclusively in the commercial sector, the company is synonymous with delivering high-quality solutions across a wide range of project types, including schools, offices, student accommodation complexes and warehousing.
Tim is proud to have reached the latest landmark anniversary and to do so with the company in such rude health, with a growing team beneath him and around him – and key personnel taking on more and more responsibility. “It’s great to be here and still open for business,” he states. “It’s all commercial work now and in 2024 we completed a lot of warehouses.
“There are a lot of big chemical factories in Ringaskiddy and they are deciding to build large warehouses probably as a result of Brexit. That increase in warehousing has generated a lot of work for us … I have completed more warehouses in the past two years than I did in the previous 20.”
Before that, the workload predominantly centred around nursing homes and schools. There are always cycles in construction and circumstances keep changing. “Offices are gone now, with so many people working from home.”
Operating at the cutting edge of the electrical contracting industry for 30 years, Tim is always cognisant of changing rules and regulation, ensuring that O’Keeffe Electrical remains fully compliant and up to date with the latest requirements.
“There are new standards to be complied with all the time, which is good for the industry but means extra paperwork for us and additional training. There are new safety standards for SafeElectric, new emergency lighting standards and new fire alarm standards. We’re constantly training and upskilling our people to meet with or exceed these standards.”
Thirty years in, it is telling that O’Keeffe Electrical is currently in a fresh phase of growth, currently generating direct full-time employment for a team of 23. “The last five or six years have been very good, thankfully,” Tim confirms. “There has been plenty of work and we have grown. We work with some excellent builders who trust us to deliver a quality and dependable service. It’s nice to have that reputation and to be trusted to deliver.
“In 1994, my first commercial job was Brookfield Student Accommodation in Cork, which was one of the very first student accommodation buildings here. We executed another student accommodation building for the same client in 2023, for Scholar Lee, so that just confirms the reputation we have and demonstrates customer satisfaction and loyalty.
“Arkil, who produce tarmacadam and have had a number of different names in the meantime, is another company we’ve been working with since 1994 and we’re also with the same engineering consultants since the beginning, namely Matt O’Mahony & Associates and Martin Buckley & Associates.& JKA Associates We’ve used the same suppliers for 30 years, Kellihers Electrical, EWL , MCK,Eastern Electrical & Demesne Electrical and those enduring relationships have been key to the longevity of the company.
“Consistency is important and when you retain the same team, and it’s a team people trust, you will achieve a good end product that people can rely on.”
Some keynote recent projects successfully delivered to the highest standards include Riverstick Nursing Home (with 93 en-suite bedrooms, dining rooms, activity rooms, coffee dock, treatment room, hair salon, full kitchen and laundry facilities and all ancillary services) for KPH Construction in 2021 and largescale warehouses in Little Island for Summerhill Construction and CField Construction in 2022/23.
Tim and the team also take on regular work in schools all over Cork each summer including the refurbishment of fire alarms and emergency systems.
Looking to the future, the unassuming Cork electrical contractor is confident that O’Keeffe Electrical is in a good place going forward: “I have an excellent team around me now and a lot of good people on board,” he concludes. “I’m really fortunate to have great people with me and they are taking on more responsibility.
“My wife Catherine and daughter Aisling are a major part of it and Chris Higgins is doing project manager work now, while Tim O’Donoghue and John O’Riordan are taking more responsibility onsite as contracts managers and dealing with main contractors.
“The team is growing and I’m delegating more but I do like to be involved myself and will continue to progress the company to the next level. I like helping people – that’s one of the rewards of this work,
when I see a satisfied customer on completion of a project.”
O’Keeffe Electrical,
Link Road,
Ballincollig,
County Cork.
Tel: 021 4874506
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, February, Vol 11 No 2
